How to get started with weights/strength training?

What equipment do you have?

Edit: IF you have nothing and don't want/can't then this is great: http://www.marklauren.com/

I'm also curious - although I have resistance bands and gym access.

If you have absolutely nothing and can't even get a book - http://hundredpushups.com/ (and its sister sites), and/or http://yoga.about.com/ . Can't get much simpler than that.

If you can get a book or two, but not equipment - You Are Your Own Gym, Never Gymless, Convict Conditioning

If you have, can afford, or can get access to some equipment (and, ideally, at least one book) - Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting (and/or New Rules of Lifting for Women), and a weight set required for your chosen program (you can mitigate some of the cost by building your own bench and rack).

If you're just looking to tone up and not really 'strength train' as such, bodyweight exercises are as good as any.

What? You gain strength when you do bodyweight workouts, ergo "strength training." Additionally, if you do the progression right, you can get just as strong on bodyweight stuff alone as you can with a barbell. Just because the progression isn't as clear-cut as "add more plates to the bar," and might take a little more research, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

If you're just looking to tone up and not really 'strength train' as such, bodyweight exercises are as good as any.

What? You gain strength when you do bodyweight workouts, ergo "strength training." Additionally, if you do the progression right, you can get just as strong on bodyweight stuff alone as you can with a barbell. Just because the progression isn't as clear-cut as "add more plates to the bar," and might take a little more research, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

You should probably reread my post before you decide that I said you can't get strong with bodyweight exercises. The implication was that you will not build as much muscle using bodyweight exercises because the total sum of the weight you are lifting is never more than your actual bodyweight, which is often less than your 1RM, and a weight near your 1RM is the basis of actual strength training for gains.

If you're just looking to tone up and not really 'strength train' as such, bodyweight exercises are as good as any.

What? You gain strength when you do bodyweight workouts, ergo "strength training." Additionally, if you do the progression right, you can get just as strong on bodyweight stuff alone as you can with a barbell. Just because the progression isn't as clear-cut as "add more plates to the bar," and might take a little more research, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

You should probably reread my post before you decide that I said you can't get strong with bodyweight exercises. The implication was that you will not build as much muscle using bodyweight exercises because the total sum of the weight you are lifting is never more than your actual bodyweight, which is often less than your 1RM, and a weight near your 1RM is the basis of actual strength training for gains.

...tone up and not really 'strength train' as such...

Please tell me how that line could be interpreted any other way than "bodyweight is great...as long as you don't want to get strong."

Also, your last line highlights entirely your lack of understanding about how bodyweight workouts work (and why so many people think that bodyweight workouts are inferior to pumping iron). Bodyweight workouts aren't based on weight alone, but the mechanics of leverage. It's because of leverage that kneeling pushups are easier than regular pushups, and why wide grip pull ups are harder than shoulder-width grip pull ups. Additionally, bodyweight exercises have the added advantage of working out the little stabilizer muscles that help control things like balance. (This article puts some of the basic concepts rather nicely - http://www.nickmitchellblog.com/bodyweight-exercises-for-strength-bodybuilding/ , as does this article - http://jasonferruggia.com/is-bodyweight-training-effective-for-building-muscle/ )

Beastskills.com is a great resource for advanced bodyweight stuff (I'd love to see someone who only does weight lifting try the clapping handstand pushup) - http://www.beastskills.com/tutorials/

Please tell me how that line could be interpreted any other way than "bodyweight is great...as long as you don't want to get strong."

My understanding of the English language is that when someone uses quotes and the words "as such," that person usually means 'not as the phrase is normally used' and 'within the inherent nature of' that particular phrase.

i.e. if you're looking to strength train to gain muscle mass, as what is usually implied by using the phrase "strength training" in favour of using the phrase "tone up," using heavy weights is the most efficient and accurate method to do so. That's not to say you cannot build strength effectively using bodyweight exercises alone, since using any type of continued resistance in any capacity stresses the muscles and results in gaining strength, or to say that "toning up" cannot be achieved by lifting heavy because that's simply not true.

It's layman's terms for a complex subject.

And I've neither said nor implied that bodyweight exercises are inferior to lifting, in fact I actually said "body weight exercises are as good as any." I understand the mechanics perfectly fine.

It feels ridiculous getting into semantics, but it's clear you're not reading my posts correctly.

If you're just looking to tone up and not really 'strength train' as such, bodyweight exercises are as good as any.

What? You gain strength when you do bodyweight workouts, ergo "strength training." Additionally, if you do the progression right, you can get just as strong on bodyweight stuff alone as you can with a barbell. Just because the progression isn't as clear-cut as "add more plates to the bar," and might take a little more research, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

You should probably reread my post before you decide that I said you can't get strong with bodyweight exercises. The implication was that you will not build as much muscle using bodyweight exercises because the total sum of the weight you are lifting is never more than your actual bodyweight, which is often less than your 1RM, and a weight near your 1RM is the basis of actual strength training for gains.

What? As dragonwolf is pointing out, it is all about leverage.

Say for example take a bench press. Instead of lifing in over your shoulders, lift the weight over your abs instead What do you find? It is WAAAAAAAAY harder. Now look at the differences. The angle yoru triceps work over is a little different, but the movement of your upper arm and shoulders is almost exactly the same. At lockout you aren't holding it vertical and your shoulder is under load. Because of the location of the weight the mechanical advantage of leverage changes drastically, a handful of pounds over your abs will feel the same to your shoulders as hundreds of pounds over your shoulders. In BW terms this is the difference between a regular pushup and a well performed pseudo planche pushup, which takes advantage of this mechanical disadvantage.

You can also take advantage of force multipliers. Take for example a front lever row. This is a pullup with your body held parallel to the ground, not perpendicular. The act of holding your body like this not only takes a massive amount of core strength, but since it is hideously mechanically disadvataged to the shoulders, your lats are under a gigantic load. And then you do pullups with your lats already holding that load. Needless to say there are only a small number of people on the planet strong enough given their size to actually perform this movement. Yes you are "only" moving your bodyweight, but do you think that someone that can perform this movement can only row 1x their bodyweight if they tried doing a barbel row. LOL.

The potential resistance in the upper body is more or less unlimited. It is a little harder with legs, you will have to load single leg squats eventually for the quads (though a plyo shrimp squat is an insanely difficult movement), but a GHR will do everything for your posterior chain that a deadlift will do; if GHR's are too easy for you you need to stop and ask yourself if there is actually a point to getting stronger (though they can be loaded too).

It is said that losing weight is 80% diet. The situation is exactly the same building muscle. If you want big muscles eat to build big mucles and supply your muscles with progressive resistance, it doesn't matter what form the resistance comes from.

I'm currently bulking with 1 lb/wk gain, nearing 200 lb @ 10% BF, and use no weight bigger than a 35 lb dumbbells, and really they are just for a couple of prehab/assistance exercises and loading pistol squats. My primary exercises are:

Tuck lever row
Assisted one arm chinup
One arm pushup
Handstand pushup
L-sit
Dragon flag
Hand assist glute ham raises
Weighted pistol squats

The problem with lifting weights rather than resistant training is you will gain muscle and fitness yes, however, if you ever stop it will turn to fat. I have been working for 2 years to get rid of all my excess fat from doing so. I have seen many people go down like that. How many weight lifters have you seen with a skinny stomach? Not many, because as a whole its not a healthy weight lost regimine. Your not burning enough calories to keep your stomach down. As an end result you gain a stomach and that increases health problems (i.e., heart attacks and high blood pressure).

Just read this:

http://4chanfit.wikia.com/wiki/Harsh's_Worksheet_(WIP)

Additionally, when you do any kind of strength training, you're going to build muscle (and you have to build muscle mass in order for it to have any lasting effect on your metabolism). That's the basic mechanics of strength training. It doesn't matter if you're going strength-oriented Yoga or deadlifting twice your bodyweight - you use your muscles to the point that they get microtears in them. Those microtears then heal up to form stronger, more dense muscle. "Strength training" is "strength training" no matter if you're doing pushups or deadlifts.

Your wrong here, Push ups will not continure to build mass unless you add more weight to them overtime. Microtears in the muscle do not heal up to from more dense muscle. let me explain:

Specific adaptations to imposed demands.
As you increase the outside load on your muscles (weights) there will be a change in your neurological recruitment.
as you continure to increase there will be a change in bio-chemical functions
next there wil be a change in the microstructure of the muscle, (not because of tears) were you will get a new myonuclear domain as the nuclei in the muscles splits.
finally with continued load you will get a macrostructural change, hypertrophy, a larger muscle. (generally 6-8 weeks)

That is with increased load on the muscles. If you were to have the same load but just increased repetitions you will not get new myonuclear domains or hypertrophy. What you will get is an increase in mitochondria and oxidative enzymes to promote endurance.

You will see some gain as a beginner to exercising with body weight. But that will stop and from then you will only gain endurance, not size or strength. Unless you equate endurance to strength, then you could say you are stronger.

To the OP. I would suggest the book New rules of lifting for women. It has a lot of good advice in it, great exercises, and a meal plan if your interested in it.

Also bodyweight exercises are great as well for what they are. DVD wise the only ones I have used are Insanity and Asylum. And they are killer workouts.

mixed with cardio and bodyweight exercises adding a full body resistance program will ultimately be more beneficial to your bones and muscles